relationship of Inguinal Hernia to Reflux

A friend of mine is telling me that his doctor has diagnosed him as having double inguinal hernias, which the doctor is supposed to repair next week.

My friend is also telling me that his doctor is saying that these INGUINAL (not hiatal) hernas could be a contributing factor to a problem that he is having with some type of reflux.

I have heard of hiatal hernia being the cause of acid reflux but NOT an inguinal hernia. Does this doctor know what he is talking about or is it likely that my friend has misunderstood what the doctor is telling him ? And that he actually is suffering from hiatal hernia and not inguinal hernias ?